Dance With the Enemy
by veomia
Summary: Fighting her way through the Elite Four had been tough. Sprinting up the stairs to the Champion's chambers had been difficult – it was a thousand steps after all. The road there hadn't been forgiving, but at least her final leg to victory had gone smoothly enough so far. But just like everything in Touko's life, nothing was ever going to be easy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N **

**Hi! So this is my first ever fic, I've never had the confidence to post anything until now. God knows how long I've been reading & writing fanfics, but I don't claim to be any sort of expert whatsoever! This fic is complete mindbabble, but I had to post something beacause I was so annoyed the N and Touko friendship (or something more? ¬u¬) was not really developed... I have adored Pokemon since I was very little, and the new Black/White and Black/White 2 games have been my favourites!  
I've put a theme at the start of each chapter to explain which song I was listening to the most when writing each chapter, and I think they reflect the atmosphere of each one. Just my opinion, nothing serious :)  
**

** Please enjoy, brace yourself for exceptionally bad grammar (I am the world's worst writer just to let you know) leave a comment or whatever, don't really know how it goes on this site...  
PS - I only rated it T in case I decide to develop it later on. And I don't know what's classed as what on this site so I'm going to play it safe.  
Huge spoiler alert, if you haven't played Pokemon Black/White I suggest you go do so now, because otherwise this fic will completely ruin the ending for you.  
I own none of these characters, though the Pokemon mentioned are actually members of my own team c:  
So here we go!  
**

* * *

**_Theme: Hall of Fame - The Script_  
**

**Chapter 1  
**

Fighting her way through the Elite Four had been tough. Sprinting up the stairs to the Champion's chambers had been difficult – it was a thousand steps after all. The road there hadn't been forgiving, but at least her final leg to victory had gone smoothly enough so far.

But just like everything in Touko's life, nothing was ever going to be easy.

She knew it as soon as she entered the shadowed doorway to Alder's keep, the first murmurs of an argument drifting up from inside. Touko glanced down to her right, flanked by her Luxray, Shizz, who regarded her with his steady eyes. She knew she would have to face the trouble; this was the only way forward.

One final deep breath. She entered the chambers.

"I beg you! Separating people from Pokémon... Do anything but that!"

Touko's eyes widened. The room was entirely dominated with the presence of a colossal white dragon, standing at against the back wall, a silent sentinel casting its unwavering gaze across the scene. Its wings lay unfurled, aloft and moving as the creature breathed steadily. For a moment, it glanced in her direction, taking her and Shizz in, an all-knowing power teeming behind the unblinking blue orbs. Beautiful, but terrifying. She shuddered inwardly, looking away.

Standing in the centre of the room was Alder, visibly slightly slumped in defeat, clutching his pokeballs to his chest. His voice carried an undertone of desperation and pleading, but above all, anger. And Touko knew why. Knew who he was talking to.

The familiar blue eyes flicked up to register her from under his cap as she walked in.

"Ah. Touko." He said calmly.

"N," she spoke through gritted teeth. She had half expected he would be the one to ruin her shot at becoming Champion.

N's attention followed her as she came to stand beside Alder. She felt him glance at her in acknowledgement, but she kept her sight fixed on N, whose gaze slowly averted to the floor. If he wasn't such a twisted person, she could almost see a young green-haired boy standing sheepishly in front of his father, unable to look in the eyes that reprimanded him. But that wasn't N.

"N, somewhere deep down, you know this is wrong!" Alder piped up. "You're a human, just like me, so you must understand the significance of the bond between pokemon and trainer! After all, you're still a child," he said matter-of-factly. "And children must listen to the wisdom of their elders, especially the Champion…" Alder trailed off, an essence of instant regret in his voice.

The illusion of the scolded boy was broken in that second. Touko had never seen someone glare with such venom.

"You and I both put our beliefs on the line and fought with all our strength," N hissed. "And I won." He said this with no pride, simply stating this as if it were an insignificant fact. "You cannot speak to me with such a bold statement. Do not say another word."

Alder was silent.

"And as for you, Touko…" She jumped. He had spoken her name quietly, his tone much different from when he spoke to Alder. It was… almost gentle. Once again, she looked up at him, and he finally locked eyes with her. His head was tilted slightly, quizzical, regarding her with an almost timid curiosity.

He cleared his throat.

"...I've been waiting. In the future I envisioned, you obtained a stone." She felt the Dark Stone quiver in her pocket, and she brought it out, feeling the warmth of it settle across her palm. N walked down from the raised platform, towards her.

Shizz let out a warning growl, stepping forward in defence of his trainer.

"It's okay." N spoke not to her, but to Shizz. The calm returned to his voice, his hand outstretched in submission. Shizz must have recognised him from before, for she saw him relax, anxious growls subsiding.

Right in front of her, N extended his hand, and Touko tensed, expecting him to grab the Dark Stone off her. She flinched, about to draw away from him, but N simply laid a finger on top of her fist clenched around the stone, a butterfly's touch. Delicate, warm. Huh. Somehow she had expected him to be as cold as his soul was rumoured to be, but he was just the same temperature as everyone else.

"And, indeed, you have." He withdrew his hand. The spell was broken. He was still her enemy.

She let her own hand fall open, the stone quivering in excitement in her palm. N glanced behind him to the white dragon, whose breathing was visibly elevated by the increased momentum in the beating of its wings. Waves of fire swam around its tail structure and across the cloudy wisps that Touko guessed functioned as ears, casting a light glow across the room.

"That Dark Stone... you're aggravating Reshiram. Stop." N sounded panicked, the mask of calm slipping. He broke away from her, rushing over to comfort Reshiram.

He glanced at the ceiling, fear in his features. Touko didn't know what to do.

"This is not a suitable for the legendary dragons! The castle of Team Plasma, rise up! Surround the Pokémon League!" He commanded.

The ground began to shake, and Touko looked down in shock. What the hell had N just done? Suddenly, the tremors increased tenfold, the room vibrating violently, as if an earthquake had just been summoned. Touko reached out to steady herself against Shizz, clinging on to his fur as huge cracks snaked their way up the walls and floor.

"Alder!" Touko shouted for the Champion, only to inhale a lungful of dust. She spat out the bitter taste. A huge cloud of ash had accumulated, obscuring her vision. She couldn't see Alder, she couldn't see Reshiram, and she couldn't see N. All she could do was to hold on and wait out the tremors, cowered against her Luxray, who shielded her as the unrelenting blasts continued.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**That previous chapter was shorter than I'd imagined, but oh well. This might end up being quite a short fic... On with the show!**

* * *

**_Theme: Signs - Bloc Party_  
**

**Chapter 2**

Thud, thud, thud. As if the Pokemon League was being bombarded with huge objects. Finally, the dust settled, and looking around wildly, Touko spotted Alder, who was being helped to his feet by Cheren. N and Reshiram had vanished.

"What the hell happened?" Touko coughed, scrambling over displaced rubble. It reminded her of a child's puzzle, the beautiful gold patterns of the Champion's ceiling smashed to shards like a broken mirror. Sad, that such an old structure had been destroyed in such a way.

Cheren said nothing, but pointed with a shaky hand towards the back of the room. She followed his line of sight to see what looked like a… staircase? Yes, it must be a staircase, erupting from the room and disappearing into the blinding light of the sky. No, wait, it was coming down from something, like a staircase coming down from heaven… what the…?

"Cheren, what the hell just happened?"

Cheren opened his mouth to speak, but he was immediately cut off.

_"What has just appeared is Team Plasma's castle."_ A voice spoke as if to answer her. Everyone swivelled round in an attempt to see who was speaking._ "The king's words will resound from the heights to all below. You must come to the castle, as well. Everything will be decided there. Whether Pokemon will be liberated from people, or whether Pokemon and people will live together… We will see whose belief is stronger... And our result will change the world."_

It was N. His voice resounding around the room like an echo, though the speaker himself was no-where to be seen.

"Touko… go," Cheren was speaking to her now. She glanced at him, seeing though his glasses for the first time in weeks. When the light wasn't reflecting off them, his eyes gave all his emotions away, much like a knight without his helm. His hard trainer demeanour shattered. He looked a lot like the boy she played with when she was a child. "Go after N."

She could audibly hear the pain in his voice. The both knew that this was it, if she went after N, he wouldn't be able to follow.

She rushed over to him and hugged him, catching the scent of her childhood, of freshly cut grass. Memories of laughter, the three musketeers: Bianca, Cheren and Touko against the world.

"Thank you. For everything." She whispered against his neck.

"I know." Was his reply.

And then she was gone, running flat out up the stairs with Shizz at her heels. Up and up she sprinted, the stairs seeming endless…

Suddenly the stairs ended abruptly, and she toppled out into an elaborately decorated corridor. She panted, trying to catch her breath, taking in her surroundings.

The corridor was beautiful, ornate gold fleur de lis adorning the walls, gold gilding around the mirrors and paintings on the walls and at the hands of every plush chair. It was strange, coming from the catastrophic bomb-site that was the Pokemon League's ruins to this place, like stepping into a different world. It was almost fit for royalty.

Ah. Fit for royalty.

Her mind was thrown back to the night of the Ferris wheel. When she had believed N was her friend, she had admired him and felt something… special between them. Oh how silly it seems now.

_They buy tickets to the Ferris wheel. Laughter. Sharing stories about their Pokemon. Candyfloss, sickly sweet in her mouth. A sweet scent to the cool evening breeze. The ride starts, and she had looks into his eyes, feeling his hand inches away from her own. Its could be so easy…_

_But then he tells her who he really is. The King of Team Plasma. And her world comes crashing down, down like the Ferris wheel's descent. She breaks away, staring out of the window for the few seconds left of the ride. Don't let him see the tears pricking behind your eyes._

Maybe if she hadn't acted like that, things could have turned out differently. She could have urged him to change his ways, to renounce Team Plasma, and then the world wouldn't be as messed up as it is now. Everything could have been different... But no, all those roads were closed. She had fled the second the ride was over. Not looking back. Never looking back.

This was N's castle. And the King, well, naturally the King would always be found at the top of the castle.

Every pristine white door along the corridor was locked; no matter how hard she shook each gold door handle, until each was about to fall off. Shizz had wondered off in aid to her search.

_Brrroowrrr?_ He had found something.

"What is it Shizz?" He nudged the door at the end of the corridor with his nose. He had found a door that was unlocked.

"Thanks boy," she ruffled his mane fondly.

Memories popped into her head as she smiled at her companion. Shizz had been her first ever Pokemon that she caught, when she'd met him behind a rustling patch of tall grass. _Be careful Touko! There can be wild Pokemon hiding in the tall grass! _Her mother had always scolded her when she was young for adventuring into the woodlands with Cheren and Bianca. And she was right, the second she'd stepped into the grass, she had been ambushed, pounced on by a young baby Shinx. Shinxes were almost never seen in Unova; normally keeping strictly to the far away Sinnoh reigon, but she didn't know that. All she wanted was the Shinx to be her friend. Using her newly acquired starter Pokemon, a gift in the form of an Oshawott from Professor Juniper, she'd been waiting to catch one since she'd first heard of them. Cheren had often teased her about how she would never catch anything, being the apprehensive person she was, so she was determined to prove him wrong.

And so she did. Shizz was caught after her first battle with a wild Pokemon, an addition to her team in the form of a quirky little bundle of fluff, who had a tendency to fall asleep in the most peculiar of places; in her mother's laundry basket, on top of her computer where it was warm, she'd even found him snoozing in the sink once!

In the six years that had passed since their fateful encounter, Shizz had grown, as most Pokemon naturally did, evolving from the little cub, doubling in size to a Luxio and finally to the fully-grown Luxray that stood before her today.

She smiled at how far she'd come with her reliable Luxray. He's once been as small as a cat, though now she could almost look at him straight in the eye, for he'd somehow reached shoulder height along the way.

She pushed the large door he was indicating to open, cautious of what the room beyond would hold.

Nothing could have prepared herself for what she saw.

A scratched half-pipe skateboard ramp set against the wall opposite. A train set, covered in dust, the trains still in place on the tracks. An over turned toy box, once coloured toys now dull and faded with age. An ancient mobile descending from the high ceiling, a tiny model of an Altaria surrounded by stars and Lunatones. A frayed basketball hoop mounted on the wall, the basketball abandoned in the dust on the floor.

Shizz nudged it with his nose, snuffing against the dust that had collected over the years. It rolled to a stop at her feet, and she bent to pick it up.

In black marker pen, the letters "N.H" were still visible. The pictures on the wall were faded in the sun, but she could still see him smiling amongst his pokemon in photos. Drawings on every surface, showing him with his arms wrapped around a Zoura, petting a Darumaka in amongst the foliage of a forest, images spilling out from pages onto the walls themselves, bright, vibrant, happy memories recorded in smudged pencil and crayon. "_My friends"_, the titles read, again and again, glitter, pen and paint.

The little boy was brought back into her minds eye. Back when the mobile had played music, back when a skateboard rattled along the half-pipe, carrying a little boy, shrieking with delight as his Zoura scampered along behind him. A cloud passed over the sun, the light from the window fading. Touko shivered. N, locked within this room with no one to talk to aside from his pokemon. A rift between him and his foster father. Lonely. Abandoned. Frightened.

A small handprint was painted onto the basketball in acrylic paint. Her hand covered it completely. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She wasn't crying, no, it was just the dust. Honest.

Over and over in her head, she kept repeating to herself, _its N. Its N! He's the enemy. He hasn't got a heart. He hasn't got a heart. Its N! _But a very small voice persistently spoke over her rational thinking, quiet but sincere. _He's just that little lost boy_. _Give him a chance. _

"No," she shook her head, silencing her internal babble. "Enough now."

As if to prove a point to herself, she placed the basketball down on the floor, backing out of the room. "Come on, Shizz."

She shut the door with a click.

The only way is up.

Up and up, another flight of winding stairs Touko climbed, only to be faced with an identical corridor to the previous one downstairs. Ignoring the doors this time – she didn't want any more guilt trips. She'd put a mental block on N's nursery, bluntly pushing it out of her mind.

At the top of the next flight of stairs, the corridor began to show variation. This must be the private quarters; people's rooms or something. No doubt countless Team Plasma Grunts swarmed behind the doors, plotting their next mass robbery of Pokemon, or whatever else they did in their spare time. Touko smiled at the silly idea of a Grunt watching TV or playing with their Pokemon. She'd never given it much thought; she'd just always assumed they roamed Unova stealing people's Pokemon and wreaking havoc. But they have to sleep at some point, she mused.

Finally, on what seemed to be the very last floor, Touko jogged to a halt. The corridor was bare for once, not a single gilded chair in sight. In fact, the only feature apart from the white walls, with their uniform dado rail, and the delicate cut-crystal chandelier, was a huge set of oak doors set into the wall directly opposite her at the end of the hallway.

Touko approached them with an increasing sense of trepidation, mentally preparing herself for another encounter with N.

The Dark Stone quivered in her pocket once again. Reshiram was inside to greet them too - how could she ever hope to summon the counter-part, Zekrom? She let out a weary sign. She was just a girl, a girl who so excited to get her Pokemon, a girl who just wanted to help Professor Juniper clear the streets of Team Plasma Grunts, who just wanted to have a shot at having her name up on the Hall of Fame one day.

She hadn't bargained to be the one to release the legendary Zekrom from its slumber inside the Dark Stone.

Shizz interrupted her thoughts by nudging her hand with his nose. She smiled; despite everything, it was quite exciting to be here with the most marvellous team of Pokemon imaginable. Shizz, her Luxray, accompanied by her Glaceon, her Milotic, and her Umbreon, called Sarcelle, Pandora and Uno, and finally Lazarus her Deino - a gift from her cousin the previous month - who resided inside their respective pokeballs in her bag. Dormant they may be, she could still sense their presence.

Their support was all she needed. The heavy doors swung inwards.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Theme: The Lightning Strike - Snow Patrol_  
**

**Chapter 3**

_"What I desire is a world for Pokemon, and Pokemon alone. I will separate Pokemon from people, so Pokemon can regain their original power."_

N was standing in front of a huge stained glass window, the beautiful fractured colours spilling out into the room. Reshiram stood beside him, the rhythmic beat of its wings stirring the air in the cavernous room to a gentle breeze.

He hadn't turned, but it was obvious he had heard her enter.

"It's time to settle this once and for all! I will prove the value of my beliefs even if it means my Pokémon friends get hurt. Since you've come this far, I believe you are equally determined. If that's so, prove it to me!" He turned to face her, features set.

In a last desperate struggle, the pitying side of her mind stimulated her to speak.

"N! Can't you hear yourself? You sound just like your father, Ghetsis. I know he's just put these words into your mouth!"

A flicker of anger passed across his face. "He is not my father."

His words sent a chill rushing down Touko's spine. When N had spoken to Alder in that tone, it had scared her, but now it was directed at her… in that second, she considered backing away. But she stood her ground.

N continued. "You came all this way to battle me… But Zekrom is not responding. You haven't yet been recognized as the hero, have you?" A tremor of doubt made her spirit waver slightly. "How disappointing. I actually kind of liked you a little."

Touko snorted. "Yeah right." She muttered to herself, the memories of the night with the Ferris wheel hovering at the edge of her mind. N didn't hear her, just like he hadn't noticed her fear back then.

"Through our battles, I got the feeling that you might be a Trainer who truly cares for Pokémon!" He hesitated. "But I was kidding myself. The idea of Trainers getting to know each other through battles is ridiculous!"

"Of course I care for my Pokemon!" Touko cried. She gestured down to Shizz. "Does this look like a badly treated Pokemon to you? Or are you just so blind, you can't notice true friendship from high up on your throne_, your majesty_." She hissed sarcastically, ever so slightly inclining her head in mock respect, but she could tell then her words had hit home.

"I know you don't speak of your Pokemon, but of yourself. And me." N sighed, pacing up and down the podium with his hands clasped behind his back. "And… I…"

Touko's breath faltered. Was he going to apologise? Call off the whole Team Plasma-apocalypse? Not possible.

Abruptly, N stopped pacing, and stared right at her.

"No. No more. You have two options: challenge me to a fight you can't win, or leave this place and watch the birth of a new world where Pokémon are free of people! Reshiram! Come!" He extended his hand towards the dragon, who let out an ear-splitting ethereal cry, filling the room with a lament of sorrow and anguish. It beat its wings against the air, now airborne, and circled the room once, landing in front of its master.

"Your Dark Stone is… I mean, Zekrom is…"

A lot of things happened at once then. Simultaneously, the Dark Stone ripped itself from the pocket of her jacket, arcing through the air like a tiny black comet to float above the podium. She followed its path, rendered speechless. At the same time, Reshiram let out its beautiful cry once again, extending its wings to their full span.

A split second later, the room was enveloped in a mixed rush of fire and blue light. Touko screamed, throwing her arms above her head, and at that moment, she truly believed she was about to die. About to be incinerated alive by fire and fried to death by the static electricity that surged from the hovering Dark Stone.

As the earthquake tremors ripped their way through the ground beneath her feet once more, she thought miserably to herself: _my death had to come at the command of the one person... the one person I thought I... cared for. Stupid fate._

.

..

...

"Open your eyes. Touko."

The shaking had stopped. Everything was white. Was she in heaven? What was N doing in her heaven? Had they both been sacrificed for the two legendary Pokemon to live? Was that N's true crazy plan?

Touko opened her eyes an inch, lowering her arms from the defensive stance they had been in. She was not in heaven. The fire and electricity had disappeared. She was alive.

Though what she saw then nearly stopped her heart.

Towering above her was the most colossal creature she had ever seen, bar its twin, Reshiram. At over 9 foot, the solid black mass that was _Zekrom_ stood tall, wings outstretched, a thunderous rumble issuing from deep within its throat. The generator structure entwined into its massive tail crackled and glowed with blue electricity. Fists clenched, red eyes looking down at her in a fervent gaze, burning with fierce curiosity.

She could only gaze up in awe. From what seemed a million miles away, she heard N speak as if he was reciting a legend, his own voice full of wonder and admiration.

_"Zekrom and Reshiram… They were once one life. One Pokémon. Complete opposites, yet the same. Zekrom and Reshiram are Pokémon that appear before the hero they recognize."_

Zekrom let out a deep grumble, seemingly in acknowledgement. Touko felt very small.

"Ah… I see. You really are a hero, too." N sounded strangely relieved.

As if in agreement, Zekrom let out a booming roar that vibrated down to Touko's very bones. She shrunk away, half expecting the creature to lash out. The roar was accompanied by an wavering cry, sounds that brought images of mourning and longing to Touko's mind.

"Is it… talking to me?" She stammered, loud enough for N to hear.

N's voice was excited as he quickly translated "It says, 'I want to battle with you. Try to make me your friend and ally.' It plans to test you to see if you are really pursuing ideals." N sounded very impressed.

Touko didn't know what to say. A test? Dread settled in the pit of her stomach.

"I, also, am curious to see how powerful you are. Now, catch Zekrom and make it your ally!"

Hearing her enemy's voice actually supporting her made Touko snap to focus. Her ideals. Her ideals. In an ideal world, she wouldn't be fighting N. She wouldn't have to continually force her mind to stop thinking about him. She would have him understand that he was wrong – people and Pokemon could walk side by side without having to remove people's Pokemon in the name of false "liberation".

She clenched her fist, and Zekrom roared, challenging her. A smile crept across her face.

"Shizz, come back!" Her Luxray let out an assuring bark and returned to his pokeball. Her hand knew which pokeball to pick without having to look, and with a flick of her wrist, Glaceon erupted from her pokeball, her eerie cry full of determination. She didn't need N's translation to hear Sarcelle sing words of protection towards her trainer.

She addressed Zekrom quietly, though she hadn't the faintest idea why, forcing her jelly-like legs to remain vertical. "Zekrom, I invite you to join me and my team! Help me make N see sense… please."

N had climbed onto Reshiram's back and the pair was airborne, flying high up into the rafters of the tower to get out of the way of the oncoming battle.

"Get ready! Go for it! Zekrom will bare its fangs at people who fail to follow their ideals." That was all the encouragement she needed.

"Sarcelle, use Ice Beam!"

Her Glaceon dashed forwards, leaping to the side and summoning a narrow burst of icy light to fire towards the giant dragon.

The first attack caught Zekrom on the arm, causing it to stumble backwards slightly. Zekrom was a dragon-type, known to be weak to ice-type attacks such as Ice Beam. That would have done some significant damage – as was her plan: weaken Zekrom as far as it would go, then attempt to catch it with an ultra ball.

"And again, hit it with another one!"

Before Zekrom had a chance to retaliate, another beam of ice smashed into it, causing it to growl with rage. The counter-attack was coming… she could sense Zekrom's turbine tail whirring to summon the electricity…

And there it was, Fusion Bolt. A move she had only heard of in books, known solely by the legendary Zekrom. A burst of energy flew towards Sarcelle, who took it straight on the chest, enveloped in the bright blue static. Touko knew the attack would weaken Sarcelle slightly, but her Glaceon was tough. She would withstand the attack.

The light dispersed, and there she was, still standing, dependable as ever.

"Sarcelle, use Blizzard!"

A strong ice-type move, Touko hoped it wouldn't completely knock out Zekrom for good. But… where was it? The air remained warm, no sign of ice.

"Sarcelle?"

Her Glaceon glanced back towards her, and it was then she saw the pain in her eyes. With a cry, she rushed forwards, catching her Glaceon as she fell. Fusion Bolt must have been too powerful for even her sturdy Glaceon to withstand.

"It's okay," she whispered as Sarcelle whimpered and shuddered. Fainted. She returned to her pokeball.

She looked back to Zekrom, who was waiting patiently, electricity crackling in a surrounding aura. It looked weakened though… only a few more attacks and it would be tired enough for her to catch.

_You wish for the boy to understand. _

She froze. Had she just heard Zekrom speak? It had been a deep, rumbling voice that brought to mind an image of storm clouds, rolling and riddled with lightning.

The boy… surely it couldn't know what she was thinking… thinking about N…

_I am the master of ideals. I know all ideals of man and pokemon alike, even yours, child. _

She nodded numbly.

_You fight for your ideals. It took me one battle with your Glaceon to understand, your ideals are channelled though her and the way you fight. I see it in your eyes. You wish for a world where the boy to understands? Very well. I will aid you in your journey to enlighten him. I accept your invitation._

Zekrom bowed its head slightly. Fumbling for an ultra ball, she knew Zekrom was allowing her to catch it.

The device burst open, enveloping the dragon in a burst of golden light. It consumed the creature entirely, falling to the floor. The room suddenly seemed empty without Zekrom's presence, though Touko could still register its life force inside the ultra ball. The contraption shook once, twice, three times.

And shuddered to a halt. The deed was done. Zekrom was caught.

Feeling a mixture of awe and honour, Touko crossed the room, bending to retrieve the pokeball. It sat snugly in her hand, the feeling of electricity and power of the legendary surging from Pokemon to trainer. She felt honoured to be the master of such an amazing creature.

"Ah… I see. Zekrom, who is said to lend its power to the hero who searches for ideals, has recognized your power and now agrees to stand by your side…" N had landed across the room stroking Reshiram's muzzle thoughtfully. "Very impressive."

Touko suddenly found herself overcome with embarrassment.

"Was Zekrom… talking to me?" She asked nervously.

N shook his head. "I didn't hear any words spoken from Zekrom since it asked to battle you. Why?" He sounded inquisitive.

"No reason." Touko replied quickly. Thank god, it hadn't revealed her ideals to N. Especially since they involved him. She cursed herself, but there was no denying it anymore. Those were her ideals, and she had proved them to Zekrom, and subsequently to herself.

"And now, to battle." N stood at the top of the podium, indicating for her to ascend to the side opposite to him.

She walked forwards, the continuous fight to silence her thoughts raging inside her head. N glanced up at her as she approached; something seemed to register in his mind, because he broke away from Reshiram to her. She frowned. What was he doing?

"Hold on. Your Pokémon are hurt." Touko relaxed slightly, as he held out his hand.

She handed her pokeballs over to N, who took them gently.

She studied N's face up close, watching him as he worked on healing her Pokemon. Never had she ever seen someone handle Pokemon with such care, not even the nurses at the Pokemon Centre, who simply placed the pokeballs in the healing booth with an efficient but brisk nature. They had to do that task day in and day out, but not N. He let out the Pokemon injured in her battle through the Elite Four and tended to them kindly, inaudible words of comfort as he offered the Hyper Potion, coaxing them to take it from an unknown trainer.

All the time, his brow furrowed in concentration, eyes soft beneath his fringe. It was odd; though he acted as if the whole world hated him, he treated Pokemon so carefully, conversing with them with easy as if they were his friends.

He brushed her hand by accident as he returned them, and she felt a blush creep up her neck. Stupid _stupid _Touko. Blushing had always been one of the most annoying things about her body, it was like a huge red flag alerting the whole world to her embarrassment, an obnoxious cry of _LOOK HERE EVERYBODY, TOUKO'S FEELING AWKWARD._

"Thanks," she mumbled, addressing the floor to avoid looking at him.

"There is no triumph to be gained in battling a weakened opponent." He said simply. He hadn't noticed her blush thankfully, or if he did, he made no remark. "And now, the battle I've been looking forward to for a long time."

Right. _Come on Touko, you have to battle now, get your act together! _Her mind urged her to focus. She'd already befriended Zekrom, how hard could this battle be with such a powerful ally on her side? They both returned to the podium.

N extended his hand, gesturing for Reshiram.

"Now, I will create the future I desire! I will sweep you before me!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Hey, so it's been a week since my last update! Thank you so much to maxeyn, lady of zsgolla, Welpie, That dorky blonde and Sandgem for the favourites, and an extra special thanks to That dorky blonde for the lovely review 3 and I now have two followers – thanks Welpie and Wolfman-053! You guys don't know how happy it makes me to know that someone out there actually gave my story a chance, so lots of love to you all 3 **

**Ive been super busy with multiple family birthdays and such, but now im on half term i can actually focus on writing.**  
**ive just finished all the after game shenanigans on pokemon white 2, and i made myself sad by battling n again in his castle again, lucky bastard has got a female leafeon! speaking of eevees, i really like the generation 6 eeveelution, but its hard to tell what type its going to be... flying maybe?**  
**also, after scripting ive discovered many aspects of the fic are different from the actual storyline, like times and stuff, are completely different, and for that im sorry to any of you who just want basic storyline with a few relationships chucked in.**  
**anyway, enough babble, on with the story!**  
**fun fact - this chapter was written entirely on the train journey to london :)**

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_**Theme: **_**_No Light, No Light -Florence and the Machine_  
**

**Chapter 4**

The first attack came from the left.  
Touko flinched as Reshiram summoned the giant column of fire that was Fusion Flare, eyes watering at the assault of sudden heat. But Zekrom was there in a split second, erupting forth from the pokeball as it left her hand. Its giant form shielded her from the heat, taking the fire straight to the body.

"Alright then, our turn," Touko murmured as the heat dispersed. "Zekrom, use Fusion Bolt!"  
Once again, the generator at Zekrom's tail whirred to life, electricity accumulating in a sphere of static above its out-stretched talons. With an ear-splitting roar, Zekrom sent the sphere crashing down to hit Reshiram square between the eyes.

"You and Zekrom have already formed a strong bond, I see," N exclaimed. "But do you still believe you can defeat us?"

Touko gritted her teeth, staring N down as a way of answering. Although, truthfully, she had no idea if she could actually beat N, but either way she would give it her all. He could taunt and sneer all he wanted, she would win or go down fighting.

"Very well." N smirked. "Reshiram, hit them with Extrasensory!"

The move sent a dizzying shock wave across the room, causing Zekrom to growl with pain. Touko felt its effects too, Reshiram towering above them almost doubled in size. _It was just an illusion_, she repeated to herself, as the attack wore off.

A quick command later and Zekrom was fighting back with Dragon Breath, almost knocking Reshiram out completely, the white beast looking dangerously close to defeat. From the other side of the room, she could see the shocked look N was giving her, and she felt slightly smug. _Never underestimate an underdog, N_.

She could hear the panic in his voice as he called out for Reshiram to use Reflect, doubling their defence.

But it was no use. "Finish it with Dragon Breath!" Touko cried.

Zekrom let out an almighty roar, the energy forming in its open jaw, and it sent the crackling purple fire flying forwards. There was nothing Reshiram could do, no time to escape. The critical hit landed, and it was over. Reshiram fell, fainted.

As N ran forwards in alarm to retrieve his pokemon, Touko turned to Zekrom, thanking it quietly. "Zekrom, that was amazing. You did a great job, now return, you need a break." Zekrom growled contently. She couldn't hear it speak anymore, but she got the impression it was obviously relieved to rest for the next round.

"Lets go, Lazarus!" She sent out her Deino. Lazarus clicked his jaws, sniffing the air to catch her scent. He turned his head in her direction and waggled his little stumpy tail happily.

Lazarus had been a recent gift from Touko's cousin, Ebony, who had given her Lazarus to wish her luck with the Pokemon League. Touko adored Lazarus, who although was blind and still in his youngest form, was one of the most feisty and confident Pokemon she owned.

N had regained composure by the time Touko and Lazarus were ready, reaching for his second Pokemon, sending out his Carracosta.

"Go for it Lazarus, use crunch!" she called, hearing N shout his attack at the same time, "Carracosta, stone edge!"

Carracosta was quicker on the draw; a rush of rocks erupted from the ground, thwacking Lazarus from underneath. He growled, bursting out of the newly formed rubble to latch his jaws on to Carracosta's exposed fin. The crunch was audible across the room.

N clenched his fist. "Quick, use waterfall!"

Before Touko had time to move Lazarus out of the way, the water materialised out of nowhere, rising up high to crash down on Lazarus, forcing him away from Carracosta.

Lazarus washed up near her feet, though the attack wasn't very effective; water didn't work that effectively against dragons.

"Are you okay boy?" she called. Lazarus let out his short bark-growl, scrabbling to his feet. "Good, use Hyper Voice!"

She threw her hands over her ears, and just in time too. Lazarus' next roar was horribly high pitched, and even with her hands over her ears, she could still feel the vibrations of the attack shudder through her body. The reverberating sound was tuned specifically to inflict damage to pokemon and not trainers, though from across the room, she could see that N could hear the echoing sound too, his hands over his ears like her, a pained expression on his face.

Carracosta shook its head, injured, but retaliated swiftly with Aqua Jet, speeding through the water that still remained on the floor, slamming straight into Lazarus. Critical hit.

But it was no good; Aqua Jet was still a water attack, no matter how strong it was. Lazarus hopped to his feet once more, still standing his ground.  
"One more attack, Laz, finish him with Dragon Rush!"

With a menacing roar, Lazarus launched himself at Carracosta, bright purple sparks skittering around his feet. Carracosta was tackled to the ground, where it collapsed in a heavy heap, unmoving. Lazarus barked triumphantly and trotted back to Touko.

Pandora, her Milotic, made light work of defeating N's Vaniluxe, its ice attacks doing little damage to her tough scales as she weaved about the room like a great snake, dodging attacks left and right.

N sent out his Klingklang, each attack increasing the desperate panic written across his face. Touko felt a glimmer of triumph, it seemed as if her luck had hit at just the right time. N was down by three Pokemon, yet she still had a full team. So far, so good.

N's fringe was messed from where he kept running his hands through it nervously, his face ashen. But as Touko watched him, she saw a faint spark in his eyes as he watched her Milotic hit Klingklang with Surf, almost drowning it in a one hit KO. She frowned. He was losing, what could he be so happy about?

Klingklang whirred weakly, obviously one hit away from being knocked out completely.

And then she heard it. "Thunderbolt!"

All of the attacks up until then had done little damage, though somehow they had whittled Pandora's health down roughly half her normal health.

But Thunderbolt was much more effective.

The summoned strike of lightning caught Pandora on the head, electrifying her whole body. With a feeble cry, she collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

"No!" Touko cried, running to Pandora's side. She stroked her scales softly, clicking open the pokeball to return her fainted Pokemon. That was it. Now N was going to pay.

She grabbed her third pokeball, Shizz jumping out in a burst of golden light, eyes crackling with the fierce intensity that reflected his trainers anger.

"Ah, you're angry now, aren't you?" N said, sounding somewhat smug. "Do you see how it feels to have your friends wiped out before your eyes? The cruel ways of Pokemon battles mean we have to watch as our friends hurt each other for our entertainment. This is why all Pokemon should be liberated, so they don't have to suffer to the whims of humans, they won't have to fight anymore!"

Touko stared at him. The anger still blazed inside her chest like a seething ball of rage. "What are you even talking about? You hypocrite, how can you say that when you keep your Pokemon in pokeballs too, and order them to fight for you?!"

N looked taken aback. "Why... its just for portability, of course!" he argued, though his voice audibly lacked conviction. "And how dare you, they're not _my_ Pokemon, they're my _friends_!"

Touko scoffed. "Call them what you like, but admit it, you're just like the rest of us. Don't pretend that you're so much better than me."

"Enough!" N snarled, his eyes darkening. "Klingklang, use Hyper Beam!"

The attack hit shizz on the chest, who was pushed backwards, though he stood his ground, injured but determined.

"Wild Charge!" Touko commanded, and Shizz shot forwards like a greyhound out of the gate, electricity crackling around him. He slammed into Klingklang, who hit the floor, its moving gears of its body grinding to a halt.

"Nice one Shizz," her mouth was set it a grim line. Shizz grumbled in return, though the force of the attack had damaged him in recoil.

N said nothing, as he sent out his Archeops, quietly seething in frustration. It was quite the opposite of the composed trainer who had healed her Pokemon earlier.

It was a short round; being a flying-type Pokemon, Archeops was at Shizz's mercy, who after being hammered with Stone Edge, released the full fury of Thunder at her command. Archeops was instantly knocked out.

She looked beyond the fallen Pokemon to look at his trainer. Strangely enough, N's fury appeared to have disappeared, much to her surprise. An almost calm expression settled across his face, and he nodded to himself. "My last friend..."

From his last pokeball sprung a strange Pokemon, not one Touko had seen before. "Zoroark, use Night Slash!"

So this was a Zoroark - a Pokemon Touko had only heard of in myths. The huge werewolf like creature dashed forwards, its claws raking across Shizz's chest. Shizz stumbled back, surprised, glancing to Touko for orders. A dark-type Pokemon. Okay, she could deal with this.

"Shizz, use Thunder!" she shouted. None of the moves her Luxray knew would be particularly effective against dark-type Pokemon, so her plan was to hit it with the most powerful moves he knew. She gritted her teeth, hoping it would work. Shizz was already looking pretty tired, and that Night Slash was quite a powerful move. They couldn't afford to take too many of them.

Shizz growled, the rumbling thunder accumulating above the arena. The bolt of lightning struck down…

But it missed the Zoroark completely. N's Pokemon had dashed out of the way at the very last second, the lightning hitting the ground where it had been a split-second before.

In a blink of an eye, the Zoroark retaliated with another Night Slash, impossibly fast. Shizz toppled back. Touko felt fear settle on her stomach; she had used up her whole supply of revives on her fight through the Elite Four, and it didn't look like she could count on N to heal them this time.

"Alright then, use Thunder Fang!" Touko shouted, changing tactics. Thunder Fang wasn't a particularly strong move, but at least it had a higher chance of hitting. Shizz sprinted up to Zoroark, who braced its legs to jump out the way.

Touko groaned. It looked as if this move would miss too, Zoroark was just too fast. But just then, Zoroark seemed to catch Shizz's eye, and he faltered, locked in the crouched position, still poised to jump.

Intimidate. Shizz's special ability intimidated the foes Pokemon, and it seemed as if the look in his eyes had done the trick.

Zoroark's hesitation gave him an opening, and he took it, latching his jaw on Zoroark's forearm. It tried to pull away, but Shizz bit down, electricity surging from his fangs.

Zoroark stumbled backwards as Shizz released him, electricity still snapping around his body.

"Use Retaliate!" N commanded, but as Zoroark started forwards, the electricity imbedded in his body stopped him dead in his tracks, frozen with sudden paralysis.

The paralysis gave him an opportunity to attack. "Go on Shizz, you can do it! Lets try Thunder again!" Touko cried desperately.

Shizz summoned the thunder once again, just as the first wave of paralysis wore off. The thundercloud formed, but it was no use; a mixture of fatigue combined with Zoroark's renewed mobility and fast reactions caused the bolt to miss once more, hitting the ground uselessly.

Fear turned to terror as she saw the glint in N's eye when he called out the next move.

"Zoroark, use focus blast!"

Touko could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Zoroark barrelled towards Shizz, the punch sending Shizz flying towards the wall. He hit it with a sickening thud, Touko already sprinting halfway across the room by the time he hit the floor.

She gasped as she fell to her knees beside her eldest and most dependable Pokemon, tears pricking behind her eyes. She stroked the mattered fur of his mane away from his face, recalling him into his pokeball with a trembling hand.

"Now do you see?" she heard N say solemnly from behind her. "Pokemon battles just result in your friends getting hurt. There's nothing to gain from such pointless fights."

She spun round, fuming. "Shut _up_!" she yelled, tears falling from her eyes. N stood a little way off, looking down at her with a mixture of pity and something else she couldn't read.

"But surely you understand now-"

"I said SHUT UP!" she cut him off. Without warning, one of her pokeballs opened by itself, a small figure putting itself between Touko and N.

Sarcelle growled defensively. N looked quite surprised, a smile flickering at the corners of his mouth.

"What have we here?" he looked at her Glaceon quizzically. "You didn't order her out of her pokeball, so how..."

Taking advantage of N's distraction, Touko grabbed the nearest pokeball on her belt, flinging it blindly in the general direction on the arena.

As if from nowhere, a small black cat-sized pokemon dashed towards Zoroark, flickering in and out of vision. It materialized directly in front of the startled Pokemon, blue rings glowing as it pounded Zoroark straight on the jaw.

N glanced back, astonished. Uno dashed back to stand beside his sister, the two forms of Eevee standing their ground to protect their trainer.

"How fascinating..." N said quietly. Pokemon and human stared each other down.

N was the first to look away. Apparently having seen enough, he turned on his heel, striding back to his Zoroark.

At his command, Zoroark barrelled towards Uno, though the Umbreon danced out the way at the last second, blue rings glowing mischievously. A tiny shot of pride interrupted Touko's anger. N's Zoroark wasn't the only fast Pokemon on the battlefield, and Uno, the lucky black-cat that was her shiny Umbreon could give Zoroark a run for his money.

"Uno, use Payback!" It wasn't one of the most powerful moves, but it seemed fitting. Like payback for Shizz, Touko thought glumly.

"Zoroark, Focus Blast!"

That bloody move. And it was a fighting-type move; super effective on dark-type pokemon. Touko couldn't bear to lose yet another Pokemon.

But suddenly Zoroark stopped halfway towards Uno, and Touko's face lit up. The familiar sight of golden sparks momentarily enveloped Zoroark's body, indicating the paralysis was still in effect.

"Yes!" Touko hissed under her breath. "And about time too." This could work to their advantage in more ways than just one. "Uno, use Facade!"

Right then, she was so glad she'd decided to teach her Umbreon that move. Paralysis doubled the effect, and she watched with grim satisfaction as Uno dashed up to Zoroark, smacking into it with his whole body weight.

Everyone in the room held their breath. The silence was deafening.

Zoroark stumbled backwards, falling to one knee, then the other, and then it was over, Zoroark crashed down in a faint.

"No… No! I can't have..." she heard N stutter, breaking the silence. Though it was as if he was speaking underwater.

Touko stood up, dazed. "I... won?"

Reality caught up with her in a sudden rush. She couldn't believe it. Unable to speak with an overwhelming sense of bewilderment, she bent down as Uno and Sarcelle ran over to her, yipping in delight. It was over. It was finally over. She felt weak with relief.

"Everything's ruined..." she heard N murmur miserably, breaking through her elated mood. "The truth I held... the dreams my Ppokemon and I shared..."

She felt bad for him. And it astonished her. It wasn't like her to feel guilty towards beating an opponent, but this time she felt terrible. N looked completely distraught, gazing numbly down at the pokeballs that contained his unconscious friends with a face stricken with grief.

She approached him carefully, like one would when approaching a frightened Pokemon. She hadn't forgotten her suppressed feelings towards him, no matter how hard she tried to bury them, but she also remembered what he did to her Pokemon.

Conflicted emotions ran through her mind, and she hovered awkwardly in front of him, debating what to say.

N raised his head, looking at her in confusion. "Reshiram and I were... beaten." he said dejectedly.

Something nudged the back of her leg. Glancing down, she saw Sarcelle was looking at her with stern brown eyes, which flicked towards N, and then back to Touko. She still didn't know what to say, but she realised she didn't have to say anything. Suddenly, she grabbed N, who stumbled slightly in surprise, hugging him close. She was surprised herself, but it felt as if all her anger she held towards him earlier had evaporated.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly against his shoulder.

His scent reminded her of summer day, all cut grass and fresh air. His posture relaxed, and very briefly, he held on to her for a second, nose burrowed in to her neck, before breaking away.

They both avoided looking each other in the eye; a slight pink tinge to N's cheeks that she knew was identical to her own. He cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to apologise," Touko said fidgeting her toes inside her shoes, hugging her arm across her chest. "I get it... I mean, I know how much winning meant to you. And I'm sorry."

She summoned the courage to look N in the eye, expecting to see him upset or annoyed. But he smiled at her, a certain clarity settling across his features. It seemed a revelation had finally dawned upon him.

"Don't apologise, Touko. Your ideals... your feelings... they were stronger than mine." He smiled sadly. "Zekrom and Reshiram, each of them choosing a different hero. Is this even possible? Two heroes living at the same time, one pursuing truth, the other ideals... could they- I mean, we, both be right?" he broke off, gazing up to the domed ceiling where the light was streaming in. Was he finally coming to his senses?

"What I think," Touko spoke up nervously, staring at her shoes. "Is that truths and ideals, dreams and ideas, everything is just two sides of the same coin. Maybe we can both be right, and it won't matter, because our truths and ideals cross somewhere." she said more for the benefit of herself.

"Maybe. I don't know. It's not by rejecting different ideas, but by accepting different ideas that the world creates a chemical reaction. This is truly the formula for changing the world..." he trailed off, his voice becoming quieter as if he was musing aloud.

Touko was feeling brave. She edged a few inches closer to N. "All this talk of truth and ideals, have you ever stopped to think what you really want? I mean, I know you are completely devoted to liberating Pokemon," she backtracked, her words sounding way too forward for her liking. "But have you ever thought about what you want to do outside of your life with Team Plasma? Haven't you ever felt the urge to go travelling, to see a world beyond Unova?"

"A world beyond Unova? Travelling?" N's voice was curious. He frowned. "But, well I suppose I've always been with father, and my responsibilities..."

"Earlier, didn't you said he's not your..." Touko lapsed into silence. His relationship with his father seemed to be a sensitive subject. She wasn't really sure how to ask him about it without fear of upsetting him.

N's expression darkened. "You heard right. He's not my real father." To her surprise, he shuffled closer slightly, though he didn't look at her. "I had a different life when I was young, I was a different person..."

Touko held her breath slightly. What was going on, first he finally realises the error of his ways, and now this? Was he actually opening up to her?  
Suddenly, a crash from behind made both of them jump, springing apart in shock. Uno and Sarcelle dashed over to their trainer and N, cowering behind their legs.

"What was that?" N asked, glancing down at Uno who was hiding behind his feet. In his state of fright, he seemed to have forgotten his dislike towards N, his fur was all fluffed up in anxiety. Uno apparently answered him, for N held up a hand to interrupt. "What?" He sounded shocked. "Wait wait, you said he kicked you, but who-"

A booming voice cut off N in mid sentence, Uno and Sarcelle flinching in fear. N's face drained of colour.

"N HARMONIA, YOU STUPID BOY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

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_**To be continued...**_

**I'm thinking of attempting a weekly update on wednesdays, just to let you know, but i'm not sure how thats going to play out since i am the most procrastinaty person in the universe ;n;  
**

**Also, does anyone have any ideas what i could do for a cover? i cant really draw very well and i dont want to break any copyright laws by stealing "official art" or whatever, so i'm at kind of a dead end... help?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**So I want to be brief, I know I screwed up my posting schedule and I'm really sorry, and I wanted to quickly explain why. I was originally going to do a "weekly Wednesday post", but since going back to school I've realsied how horribly busy I'm going to be with exams (since I am in my final year of GCSEs). And every day each week I have other things planned, apart from Monday nights. Everyone hates Mondays, so I though, hey, why not give you guys something to look forward to on monday nights! So that's my plan, every other Monday (to give me time to edit so I'm not posting crap) I will try and update the story. **

**Thank you so so much to x-sayrie-x and Higanbana.4 for two new lovely reviews, Tsukuyomi-chan and Alice. for the favs and lady of zsgolla, Hyourinmaru11, TF angel, Higanbana.4 and Tsukuyomi-chan for following my fic! Honestly, you don't know how amazing it makes me feel to see someone liking my fic - even if it's just a quick word to say you enjoyed it, or even a question, it doesn't take much to earn my love! c:**

**So here, have a lovely long chapter (from N's POV to mix things up a bit, it's so hard not to make them all sound dopey and lovey dovey and mary sue and gary stu GAH I HATE MYSELF SOMETIMES) and I'll retreat back to my nutella and music cave to write some more and play Pokemon White again for erm... _research_... yeah definitely only for research purposes :D**

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_**Theme: Remedy - Little Boots (Avicii Remix)**_

**Chapter 5**

"N HARMONIA, YOU STUPID BOY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

The sound of his fathers voice made N's blood run cold.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU, BOY?" Ghetsis yelled again, striding through the doors to the kings chamber, face livid and robes billowing out behind him. "I have you specific orders to finish off this girl so what, pray tell, is she still doing here?"

N shrank away. "She... she beat me. I lost, father."

Ghetsis's face turned red. "She WHAT?"

Touko cleared her throat, though N could sense her fear as she spoke up.

"I did. I beat N. what are you going to do about it?" she would have sounded intimidating, but N could see that she was trembling.

Ghetsis gave her an unpleasant look, regarding her as if he was looking at something unpleasant he'd scraped off his shoe. Ignoring her, he strode towards N.

"After all that, do you still think you're worthy to share the name Harmonia with me?" Ghetsis spoke quietly, but his words carried deadly undertone.

Rhetorical question. N knew better than to answer back when father was in such a state.

The slap echoed across the room.

N heard Touko gasp in shock. His cheek stung like fire, but he clenched his fists, refusing to let Ghetsis see the tears that sprung to his eyes.

"You good for nothing _brat_." Ghetsis hissed. He turned to address Touko.

"You might as well know. To start with, I spurred N to pursuing the reason we reawakened the legendary Pokemon now was to give MY Team Plasma more power! Power to control the fearful masses! That at least was well done." With one scathing look aimed at N, he added, "After saying you had to put your beliefs on the line and battle to see which one chosen by the legendary Pokemon was the true hero... You lost to an ordinary trainer! There is such a thing as being too stupid!"

The floor still held memories of his battle with Touko. Here and there were splashes of ice, scattered feathers from his Archeops, half frozen in place.

"Add it up, and you are nothing more than a warped, defective boy who knows nothing but Pokemon...  
Touko, I never would have thought Zekrom would choose a trainer like you. To be honest, it caught me completely off guard. But no matter! My plans have not been disturbed! In order to rule this world utterly, in order to manipulate the hearts of people who know nothing, I will have N be the king of Team Plasma. But, for that to work, you - since you know the truth - You must be eliminated!"

Touko looked stunned to silence.

"Boy, heal my Pokemon." Ghetsis demanded, waving a hand in N's direction.

By N's feet, a chunk of floor ripped out by a huge claw. He stared at it blankly. It was probably by Zekrom or Reshiram. He couldn't tell which.

"What have I told you N, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Ghetsis growled.

Eyes finally flicked up to hold his father's gaze. "No. I will not help you." Bravely, he moved to stand next to Touko.

He reached down to take the pokeball from Touko's hand, making her jump. He caught her eye, and she nodded, handing over the unconscious Pokemon for him to heal, a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. As he passed them back to her, he knew he'd made a statement to his father.

Ghetsis looked mildly surprised, though his chuckle was amused.

"I see how it is."

The stare lasted for a long time, though N was the first to look away. Ghetsis looked smug.

Touko's voice broke the tension. "But you, N, Team Plasma, I thought you all fought for the liberation of Pokemon-"

"That was just a convenient lie that I needed to create Team Plasma." Ghetsis waved her away in a disregarding manner. "Use your head. What's to be gained from letting go of useful things like Pokemon? Certainly, manipulating Pokémon helps people expand their possibilities. That much, I can agree with. Besides I wouldn't expect an child to understand." He tone held a patronising sneer.

Those words made N stumble. "What are you saying…?" he managed to get out in a disbelieving whisper, but Ghetsis was ignorant to the impact he'd had on his son.

"Manipulating Pokemon; didn't you even see Reshiram and Zekrom fighting?" Touko's voice sounded very far away, as if he was listening to the argument from a distance. "To try and act like you're better than such powerful beings, to use them as tools? That's just plain wrong."

"You can say whatever you want." Ghetsis rebuffed her dismissively. "And anyway, a Pokemon, even if it's revered as a deity, is still just a Pokemon. So what if it chose you! That doesn't mean you're a threat. Come on! Now you'll face ME in battle! I can't wait to see the look on your face when you've lost all hope!"

"Father, don't! I won't let you-"

"And I _won't_ allow anyone to stop me!" Ghetsis cut him off, verbally and physically with an extended arm. "No matter who does what!"

Ghetsis' Elektross shot from the thrown Pokeball, immediately launching itself towards Touko. Snapping to action, she shouted for Lazarus, and the Pokemon clashed in the fray.

N stood with his hands by his side, head bowed as he listened to Touko fight Ghetsis. The cries of Touko's friends, and the jeers of Ghetsis'. It made him feel sick to see the creatures forced into such an abusive situation.

All he could hear was pain, and he hated it.

_The first time Ghetsis had brought in a wounded pokemon, it had been N's old friend, his Zoura._

_"Father, what's wrong with Zoura?" N had asked, hearing Zoura whine and squirm in the man's arms._

_"This Pokemon has been wounded by humans." Ghetsis said with a stony voice. "Here, N, I want you to take a look at your friend."_

_The second Ghetsis placed Zoura on the floor, Zoura shot off to burrow his snout in the crook of N's arm. N touched Zoura lightly on the head._

Help me N; those horrid humans were mean to me!_ Zoura told him in a scared whimper. The little cub was trembling, a gash running from his  
hip right down to his knee._

Why?_ N asked curiously. _What happened? The man who took us in seems nice.

I don't remember much, but I know that I was put into a dark room, and some lady ordered me to fight. I didn't want to hurt that Growlithe, I  
swear! But she made me do it, N.

Its okay, I'll make you better, just like back when we were home_. _

_N glanced out the high window of his room. The blue sky looked very far away, and somewhere beyond these walls his forest lay. His home. The room  
comfortable and warm enough, and it was filled with strange, brightly coloured objects for him to play with, but everything in the room felt... unnatural._

_N longed for the grassy banks to lie down on, and the tall trees to climb to talk with the Swellows nesting there, not far from his cave. Life had been simple, spending the day playing with his friends, foraging for his evening meal, taking life one day at a time._

_Then one day, the man had appeared; a trespasser in N's home. _

_Darmanitan had gone to see off of the intruder, whilst Zoura had stayed behind to protect N. But still the man made it past his friends. _

_He said that he'd come to talk to N, to issue an invite to his castle, to invite him into his family._

_N was unsure at first; he'd always been wary of the humans that came adventuring in his forest, preferring to stay well away and watch their strange habits from a distance. But this man appeared friendly, and the man had told him that he was allowed to bring his friends to live in the castle. _

_N had always wondered what life was like on the big castle on the hill, for he had fallen asleep countless with the sight of the castle from the cracks in the cave wall; a slash of stone illuminated against the sprawled mess of constellations. It was like a relic of ancient times, the halls fit for a legendary Pokemon to parade up and down like in the stories he'd heard from the forest's Pokemon. _

_So curiously, and cautiously, he'd agreed to go with the man._

_Zoura didn't like the man. When N had tried to coax him to come with him, Zoura had wriggled out of N's arms and launched himself at the man. After a brief struggle, N had managed to prise Zoura off the man, though Zoura had left a huge gash down the man's eye. _

_There had been lots of blood. He'd worn a patch over his eye ever since._

_Stroking Zoura's wound, he remembered the blood from that day, the scarlet smear not unlike the gash on Zoura's leg now._

_Life in the big castle was strange. All his life, N's friends had teased him about how he didn't look like any Pokemon they'd ever seen, but here, there were people that looked just like him; tall furless Pokemon who walked around on their hind legs, just like N. But unlike Pokemon, they all looked slightly different - with Pokemon it was difficult to tell one Wurmple from another, but every human had something different about them, one lady had pink hair, one man had white hair. Lots of people who served the man who had found N looked similar, all dressed the same with a special crest on their pelts. Those were the mean ones. _

_They weren't as scary as the three spooky men. Those men followed Ghetsis around, though they never spoke, and nor did their Pokemon. N would run and hide whenever he saw them or their Pokemon patrolling the corridors; there was something deeply unsettling about them. _

_Not everyone in the castle was that terrifying though. The man who had found N had the same hair colour as him, but that was the only likeness they shared. The man had insisted for N to call him father, but the mean ones called him lord Ghetsis._

_Whenever N peaked out from behind a curtain when visitors came, he would marvel at how the six elderly men looked completely different. The same six men came often to meet with Ghetsis regularly, so N assigned them all nicknames to remember them. Grumpy and Hunched-back would often complain together about some old skull, or the introduction of something called a "new Gym Leader", whatever that was. But Bush-beard was very nice to N, and gave him sweets and asked him about his friends with a kind smile. _

_The pink lady, who was called Anthea and the yellow lady called Concordia were the nicest humans in the castle. They looked after N, brushing his hair in the morning, teaching him how to play with the toys in his room, kissing him goodnight with a story like the Pokemon in the forest used to tell him._

_They were also the only ones who didn't call him "my lord"._

_N didn't understand why all the mean ones called him "my lord N". He had no idea what that meant. But that was what they called his father, so it sounded important. N was barely five summers old, why would people of four times his age be treating him with such respect?_

_There was so much he didn't understand during his early years at the castle, but over time, N learned many things. For starters, early on he discovered he wasn't a Pokemon after all - his friends had been right. He was a human being, just like ever other person in the castle. He also learned that not everyone could talk to Pokemon as easily as he could. His father told him that he had a "very rare and special gift", one of the reasons why Ghetsis had known that he was "the hero". This confused N for a while too, though answers found their way to him over time._

_Eventually, when he did get his answers was the day he realised why they were calling him "my lord". His father explained that he was to become king one day, and through pursuing the truth, the legendary Pokemon Reshiram would accompany him to creating a world where humans no longer hurt Pokemon. N's paridise could become a reality. _

_Over his years, N befriended many different types of Pokemon, each one brought beaten, bloody or bruised to his room by Ghetsis, each one injured by humans in some way. N saw with his own eyes how horrible humans could be towards their friends, trapping them in tiny capsules, forcing them into battles, not even bothering to heal them. It was disgusting._

_On the day of his sixteenth birthday, N had been crowned king of Team Plasma. Over his years of healing Pokemon, N had finally discovered his true path in life - to liberate pokemon from their malicious human so-called "trainers", for humans had abused the bond they shared between trainer and pokemon. They saw it as a right, not as a privilege. _

_It was N's destiny to liberate and restore this ancient bond._

_His plan was going so smoothly as well. People were paying attention to him as he toured Unova by his father's side, encouraging people to release their Pokemon, releasing them from a life of pain and slavery. _

_He'd befriended the legendary Pokemon Reshiram, just as his father had told him. His destiny was unfolding before him like the pages of an ancient book._

_And then Touko had come along._

What was it about her? N couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about Touko that made him questions his father's words.  
He remembered back to their battle. She had accused N of being a hypocrite, what if she was right? N did carry his friends in pokeballs, but that was just because it was easier to travel with them, right? And he sent his friends into battle only because he was trying to get he to understand how pointless Pokemon battles were.

There was no way he could actually be causing more pain through battling, could there?

N's thoughts raced back and forth. There must be some truth in Touko's words, for Reshiram's twin, Zekrom, had recognised her as a hero too.

Could they both be right?

His father was three Pokemon down. Out of the corner of his eye, N saw Touko send out her Umbreon. That was another perplexing thing that had happened today; he'd never see pokemon defend their friend like that in a long time. Not since...

Well, not since he'd watched Darmanitan and Zoura defend him from the trespasser back in the cave in his forest 13 years ago.

_Back off, foe. Stay away from my friend_, her Glaceon had warned N with a dangerous glint in her eye. _I'd die rather than have you hurt her._  
N had been shaken, spooked even, to hear those words. _That_ was friendship. One creature putting its life on the line to protect another.

And the Umbreon had told him that Ghetsis had kicked him. N remembered what his father had said. _That was just a convenient lie that I needed to create Team Plasma_. But all this time, his father had fought _for_ Pokemon, against trainers who hurt their companions. It didn't make any sense.

His knees felt weak. N sat down on the steps, running his hands through his fringe to press against his forehead. It felt as if someone had pulled a rug from beneath his feet, throwing all his beliefs and opinions up into the air, and now they were all crashing down on him in a messed up jumbled mess.

Who was right? Touko's Pokemon said that they liked being with her, and she had shown N the extent at which both trainer and pokemon would go to in order to protect the other. Her heart was in the right place.

But his father on the other hand... Ghetsis was acting like a different person, claimed to have lied all this time about his beliefs, treating both N and Touko like dirt, forcing his Pokemon to fight although they were clearly injured.

But Ghetsis was his father, he had taken N in and made him king.

Surely family came before friends?

And was Touko even his friend? N really hoped so; he'd really come to enjoy her company over the last few months, ever since they'd met in Accumula town. He'd known she was a good trainer since that very first day; her Luxray had told him how good a friend she was.

And then in Nimbasa city... he had experienced something he'd never felt before. Was it friendship? Maybe, but it wasn't quite the same as the friendship he shared with Zoroark, nor the friendship with his sisters Anthea or Concordia. Being around them felt safe, happy even. But when he was with Touko... his stomach felt as if he'd swallowed a million Beautiflies. He wanted to just be with her, to hear her talk about  
Pokemon, or her friends, or anything for that matter, she could have explained about the sleeping habits of Amoonguss and N would have listened. He wanted to feel her presence, to look into those soft blue eyes, to feel her hand flutter near his on the Ferris wheel...

He'd watched her run after that fateful night, a pain in his chest that he couldn't describe any better than he could formulate a reason for the pain, and ever since then, he'd been convinced she hated him.

All these people who N thought he understood… and here they were acting completely differently. Maybe he didn't really understand them at all.

N watched the battle to try to clear his head. That would keep him focused on his goal.

He watched his father approach his Bisharp. Whereas he'd heard most fathers teach their children how to ride a bike, Ghetsis had been the one to teach N how to fight.

Ghetsis must have whispered the command to attack, for the Bisharp shot forwards, and Touko called encouraging words to Uno, who dodged the attack expertly.

The corners of N's mouth flickered with a smile. Touko never gave up on her Pokemon, always encouraging and looking out for each attack. The way she clenched her fists and frowned with each move, it was almost as if she immersed herself in the battle. That made her a brilliant trainer, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that, nor was he embarrassed that shed beaten him.

The Bisharp's next attack missed by several feet - Uno didn't even have to move to avoid it, but the Bisharp kept on running past the Umbreon. N frowned. Why hadn't it stopped? What was going on?

Suddenly, the Bisharp swung round, summoning a flurry of stones from the ground below Touko's Glaceon. N was horrified. Sarcelle wasn't even in battle, just what did Ghetsis think he was doing?

Touko let out an indignant cry as Sarcelle collapsed; fight-type moves were incredibly effective on ice Pokemon.

"Why you- that's completely against the rules of battle!" Touko shouted in a shaky voice. N shared her shock - to think that his father, one who sought to protect Pokemon, would do such a thing. It was horrific.

Touko was speechless, wide eyes looking to N for an answer. But he was just as astonished as she was. He shook his head. Both of them knew nothing he could say would effect his father.

"There are no rules in Pokemon combat. If you hadn't been so careless to leave your Glaceon in the way of my Bisharp's path, it wouldn't have got hurt."

Doubt spread though N's mind like a disease. Was Ghetsis implying that Touko should have kept all her Pokemon trapped in their pokeballs? But pokeballs were bad, N had knew that much at least. And why would Ghetsis inflict pain on a Pokemon that wasn't even in battle? Nothing made sense anymore.

With bated breath, he watched the Glaceon struggle to her feet, backing away from the Bisharp. Ghetsis call for his Pokemon to attack Sarcelle again, a mad glint in his eye.

"Uno, help!" He heard Touko called desperately, fumbling for Sarcelle's pokeball in her bag.

The Umbreon dashed towards the Bisharp, knocking it back with its full body weight. Skidding to a halt in front of his sister, Uno let out a fierce growl, hackles raised and blue rings flaring.

A bust of light enveloped Sarcelle, and N saw Touko with her hand outstretched, hurriedly recalling her Pokemon.

"Ghetsis, have you lost your mind?" She panted as Umbreon finished the Bisharp off with a satisfying crack of its armour audible from across the room.

In reply, Ghetsis smiled maliciously, some deeply disturbing emotion in his eye as he started Touko down.

"Elektross, Wild Charge."

The Pokemon seemingly burst from nowhere in a daze of bright light, erupting forth to charge not at the foe's opposing Pokemon, but at the trainer herself.

It was too much. N couldn't stand by any longer and watch for a second longer.

So he did the first thing that came to mind and dashed headfirst towards the comet of golden electricity as it raced towards Touko, his feet faster than his brain.

The last thing before the pain came was Touko cowering in his shadow, eyes burning up at him with a mixture of fear and confusion.

He could just make out her lips forming a question, but he couldn't hear anything now.

He smiled down at her.

"It's okay."

And then the bolt of electricity hit him square in the back, electricity convulsing through him like he'd been plugged into the mains.

Through gritted teeth and screwed up eyes, he stood his ground, riding through the pain as the electricity passed through his body and down to the earth, burning a fierce path through every nerve with a never ending sting. It was the most intense pain he'd ever felt. After what felt like a million years, the electricity finally snapped out of his system, and blinded by agony, he collapsed to his knees.

Soft hands caught him as he fell.

"N, what…?" Touko was speaking to him, but the outline of her face was blurry and distorted. He clutched at her arm, struggling to his feet with her support.

"I'm fine," N coughed, though he was secretly amazed he hadn't passed out. "Are you unharmed?"

Speechless, Touko nodded in reply.

"Good," he said grimly, turning to look at Ghetsis through the static strands of his fringe with a dark expression. "Try that again and I will make sure you pay." His words conveyed the menace of his threat to Ghetsis, who looked stunned.

"I see you've decided where you allegiance lies." Ghetsis sounded amused, watching N glower up at him in reply. "So be it. All those who stand before me shall be wiped out of my way."

He really had lost his mind.

"Zoroark, use Flamethrower!" His hand still trembled even now from the electric shock, but he forced his voice to speak with unwavering determination.

Touko sent out her Deino, who looked surprised to be flanked by a previous opponent. But after a moment, the two Pokemon nodded at each other in acknowledgement, sprinting side by side to attack.

The double attack took the Elektross by surprise, striking it head on with a burst of flame and purple fire.

It was dazed, giving Zoroark an opening to uppercut it in the jaw with Retaliate. Swinging round in rage, it tried to catch Zoroark with its own Flamethrower, but Zoroark dodged swiftly out of the way, Lazarus taking his place in a heartbeat, latching his jaws round the Elektross' arm to crunch down with an resonating crack.

Rearing back, the Elektross let out an enraged cry, shaking lose of the tiny dinosaur. With a final roar, it collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by their combined forces and fatigue.

It was quickly replaced with Hydreigon, Ghetsis's final and most powerful Pokemon.

Lazarus let out a whimper, craning his head up in an attempt to make out the opposing Pokemon with blind eyes; an evolved version of himself towering above him.

N caught a gist of what he was muttering to himself. _Oh please no, no it can't be… not my nightmare…_

Turning to his trainer, he translated quickly to Touko. "Touko, you can't fight with your Deino."

"Why not?" She looked confused, eyes wide with alarm. "Is something wrong with Lazarus?"

N glanced over to the little Pokemon cowering at its evolved form in horror. "He's frightened of Hydreigons. I can hear him talking, he's calling it his 'nightmare'."

Lazarus glanced back at N and Touko.

_I can't… I can't fight it… I'm sorry… _he yowled. _I don't want to become one of them… please, don't make me face it, it's too soon…_

"I think," N frowned. "I think he has a fear of becoming a Hydreigon…"

Touko nodded, cutting N off. "Then I'm not going to make him face his nightmare today. We've all been through enough." Her stubborn protectiveness had kicked in again. N smiled, watching as she called for Lazarus to return, hearing him give a weak bark of gratitude in reply as he switched places with her Milotic.

He could actually relate to the Deino's fear, though he didn't mention it to Touko. Despite his strict upbringing, he'd always harboured a deep fear of disappointing Ghetsis, of being saddled with such a huge responsibility of being king of Team Plasma at an early age and not living up to everyone's expectations. He sighed inwardly. It was inevitable, but of course he'd gone and messed it all up.

He remembered back to a time when he was younger, standing by his fainted Pokemon after one of his early battles, when he was still learning the ropes.

_"I'm sorry, father, I wasn't good enough." The little boy looked down at his unconscious Zoura with a quivering bottom lip._

_"You foolish boy! Don't you remember what I told you?" Ghetsis demanded._

_"I…" N didn't know what to say, sinking down next to his Zoura to stroke its mattered fur._

_"And don't cry, that's a sign of weakness, boy!" Ghetsis sighed, brow furrowed. "It seems my lessons haven't stuck in your mind yet," he said, gesturing for his Pokemon to approach them. "Let me show you what happens to those who don't learn their lessons…"_

_N shrank back, seeing the Hydreigon loom over him, all snapping jaws and sharp teeth._

_"No, please father, I'm scared of him!" N wailed, covering his eyes with his arms._

_Ghetsis said nothing as N scooped up his Zoura and fled from the room in tears._

"…N?"

With a jolt, he realised Touko was peering at him closely. Blinking rapidly, he dispelled the memory from his mind's eye.

"Sorry," he mumbled, glancing over at his Zoroark, who was also staring at the Hydreigon with fearful recollection. "Return, Zoroark."

Sending out his Archeops, he hardly felt like he had any connection to the man they were fighting now. What was his father was now a burned out husk of what used to be a human being, eyes flashing madly and evil grin unnaturally wide for that of a losing opponent. He felt no remorse now, no shame for fighting side by side with one who used to be his enemy. It was as if he'd developed a hard shell around him, protecting him from regret.

So he almost felt no emotion, other than grim satisfaction and a flooding sense of relief, as the two attacks landed, Dragon Pulse and Dragon Claw sending the Hydreigon tumbling to the ground.

"It's over."

It was finally over. Ghetsis was defeated.

N sank to the ground as Archeops flapped its wings wearily, landing in front of him. He ruffled its feathers pensively. "Thank you, Archeops, for such a brilliant ending."

"N," Touko spoke his name softly, breaking though his thoughts.

He blinked up at her, the light spilling down from the domed glass ceiling to frame her face.

"We did it. Thanks, for your help. And, for saving me…" She looked sheepish. "I suppose I owe you one."

From afar, he could hear the sounds of his father shouting in frustration. "What?! I created Team Plasma with my own hands. I'm absolutely perfect! I AM PERFECTION! I am the perfect ruler of a perfect new world!" He was a deluded man shouting at a world that no longer listened. A pitiful sight.

Touko offered N a hand, pulling him to his feet beside her. He held on to her hand for half a second longer than he should have, the warmth of her hand against his own. They let go, turning just as Alder and Cheren burst through the heavy oak doors.

Cheren's eyes immediately shot to meet N's, and behind his glasses, N could see the animosity in his suspicious glare.

"Ghetsis Harmonia, you are under arrest for the threat you posed to Unova and its citizens." N was vaguely aware of Alder speaking. Cheren broke eye contact, moving to flank Ghetsis with Alder as they restrained his arms behind his back.

Alder looked at N, mouth set in a grim smile. "Now, N... Do you still think Pokémon and people should be separated?"

N didn't answer, averting his gaze to the floor. He honestly wasn't sure what to think anymore.

"I'm sure you have much to think about. I know you were not pursuing the truth because of Ghetsis's manipulation, but because your heart was truly inspired. That is why you were able to meet the legendary Pokemon! Even if we don't understand each other, that's not a reason to reject each other. There are two sides to any argument. Is there one point of view that has all the answers? Give it some thought." His words were sincere. "You're free to go, but we must take your father away. I'm sorry."

N finally raised his head to look at his father - no, Ghetsis wasn't his father. The face of the man who had raised N was a stranger to him. All the happy memories of his childhood were drowned in memories of fear and fright.

Ghetsis let out a short bark of joyless laughter as Cheren and Alder pulled him away. "Since I couldn't become the hero and obtain the legendary Pokemon myself... I prepared someone for that purpose - N! He's nothing more than a freak without a human heart." He looked straight at Touko as he spoke his final words with unsettling clarity.

"Do you think you're going to get through to a warped person like that?"

Neither Touko nor N replied.

As three men moved out the room, N felt Cheren's eyes burn into his head, full of accusation and hatred. Finally, it was just him and Touko left in the room. It suddenly felt very big without anyone else.

"I want to talk to you about something." He said abruptly, turning to walk towards the huge window that covered the back wall. Intricate patterns depicted the great god Arceus on some sort of a journey or performing some sort of divine act; whatever it was, it meant nothing to N now.

"It's about when I first met you in Accumula Town. I was shocked when I heard what your Pokemon was saying. I was shocked because it said it _liked_ you. It said it wanted to be with you." N sighed. "I couldn't understand it. I couldn't believe there were Pokemon that liked people. Because, up until that moment, I'd never known a Pokemon like that. The longer my journey continued, the more unsure I became. All I kept meeting were Pokemon and people who communicated with one another and helped one another. That was why I needed to confirm my beliefs by battling with you. I wanted to confront you hero-to-hero. I needed that more than anything."

It all sounded too formal, but he dared not tell Touko what he really thought. She just stood there, her head slightly tilted to one side questioningly, blue eyes watching him carefully.

"There's no way a person like me, someone who understands only Pokemon— No, actually… I didn't understand them, either. No way could I measure up to you, when you had met so many Pokemon and were surrounded by friends…" He let out an exasperated sigh, lapsing into silence.

"Don't say that," Touko smiled sadly. "You do understand Pokemon, never doubt that. And even though I had my friends… I always felt lonely." She finished quietly.

N knew precisely how she felt. He just didn't know how to tell her. It was frustrating.

"Fighting with you, actually felt as if I was fighting for a cause for once, not to drill my beliefs into other people who weren't ready to hear them," He shrugged. "Protecting you just felt… right. Even if it meant defying my father. Though that man is no father to me anyway. He never was."

Before he could make another big mistake, he grabbed the pokeball containing Reshiram, releasing the legendary Pokemon back into the room. The towering white figure burst from the capsule, stretching its snowy wings to their full extent. With a motion of his hand, Reshiram's roar filled the room as it smashed right through the damn window, sending slices of glass plummeting down like multicoloured rain. He heard Touko exclaim in shock, watching the glass fall around her from underneath Reshiram's shielding wings.

"Touko, I have to go." He said suddenly. "The Champion has forgiven me, and… What I should do now is something I'll have to decide for myself."

"Hey, but what about-" Touko began, but he held up a hand to silence her.

He hated himself for having to do this to both Touko and himself, but he needed time. Time to think. And he'd learned through the past thirteen years that no one was going to hand that to him on a silver platter, no matter how high he ranked in authority.

So he spoke as if he was reciting his speech at his coronation, formal and inspiring.

And completely fake.

"Touko, you said you have a dream… That dream… Go and make it come true! Wonderful dreams and ideals give you the power to change the world. If anyone can, it's you, Touko. Well, then… I'm sure this isn't the end, so until we meet again,"

Betraying his mind, he followed his heart and leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek. She jumped, eyes fluttering open in confusion as he pulled back.

"Farewell."

And with that, he jumped from the window ledge to land on Reshiram's back, the rush of fresh air greeting him, tempting refreshing freedom from the stiffening life at the castle, his new life beckoning beyond the clouds.

* * *

If anyone could see in through the shattered remains of the window, they would see a young girl standing alone, head in her hands and rubble at her feet.

But mercifully, nobody was looking.

Touko sighed wearily. "Well, I'm in big trouble."

Since when was this the ending she'd pictured? Some way along the road, she'd made the worst mistake fathomable, a textbook error. She'd only gone and fallen for the enemy.

This had to stop.

She reached down to retrieve her bag, brushing off the glass chips and shards that had rained down on it when Reshiram had burst through it. One jagged piece caught her finger, slicing her fingertip, causing her to flinch. A bright red bead of blood sprung from the cut. Cursing under her breath, she stuck her finger in her mouth, carefully nudging the shard off her bag with her boot. It was a slice of Arceus' face, of all things; the judgemental glare of its emerald eye staring daggers at her. How ironic.

"Hey Touko," a voice from behind made her swing round.

"Cheren, I wasn't expecting you to come back..." she said wearily. Great. Of all the people it could have been, it had to be Cheren. She really wasn't in the mood to talk tohim right now.

Cheren crossed the room, coming to stand beside her. His silence was irritating, she just wanted him to say what he had to say and be gone, not some dramatic speech about 'how well they'd all done by bringing Team Plasma down', or something similar; Cheren was always generous with his emotional heart-to-hearts.

"What is it?" she said, a faint hint of annoyance obvious in her tone.

Cheren stared off to the horizon, the amber glow of the setting sun reflected in his glasses. "I didn't realise you and N were that close all of a sudden."

The rush of panic casued her heart to miss a beat. "Hm?" she tried to pass it off nonchalantly.

"Touko, I saw you two standing together after Ghetsis was defeated. I saw the look on your face," Damn, was it that obvious? "And I saw the way he was looking at you when you weren't paying attention to him."

Touko gulped, heat rushing to her cheeks. "Yeah, well we'd just won a battle against the leader of a cult organization, I think I'm entitled to be grateful for his help." She spoke sarcastically, trying to hide her nerves.

"You know, you say the dumbest things sometimes." Cheren was giving her his classic stern look, though she refused to look him in the eye, keeping her gaze fixed on the dying sun. "You're worse than Bianca sometimes. Do you know how I know that you're talking rubbish?"

Touko didn't trust herself to answer.

"You never looked at me like that." He answered for her. "Sure, we won a couple of battles together, and we've been friends for ages," Cheren sounded dejected. "But you never saw me as anything other than a little brother."

That made her look up. "Cheren-"

"Don't. Just, I don't want your excuses." He cleared his throat. "All the times we've seen him, you look at N like he's the goddamn embodiment of perfection, like you actually _want_ to be with him. Your eyes, they light up. Its like you glow when you're near him, like something in him flips a switch inside you. I've noticed it, whenever we see him, smile that little bit brighter, laugh a little louder, stand a little higher."

Touko was at a loss for words. Cheren was creeping her out slightly, and it worried her.

"Where is this going, Cheren?" She asked, unable to mask the fear in her voice.

He ignored her. "I saw you when he said goodbye, you were really aching for him not to leave, weren't you?"

"You were spying on us?" Touko found her voice, shaky but defiant.

"Only because I was worried about you," Cheren said quickly. "He could have jumped you, you heard what his father said about him, he hasn't got a human heart-"

"Wait, hang on, you don't actually _believe_ that maniac, do you?"

Cheren shrugged. "I always thought that N was a weird boy from the first time we met him in Accumula town, he wasn't quite right, if you ask me, though that's to be expected with a father like that."

"Well I wasn't asking you anyway." Touko said bluntly. She shook her head in disbelief. "Cheren, you were always the clever one, can't you see that he's just as human as the rest of us? Admittedly, his humanity may be buried deeper than within you or me, but it doesn't mean its not there! So what if he had a different upbringing to you, that doesn't make him any different to you and me."

"He is different Touko, cant you see it?" Cheren sounded irritated now. "Blinded by your admiration, you can't see past his fake smile to see what a twisted person he actually is!"

Touko scoffed. "Oh, and you know him so much better than me, do you?" The anger from the last few days was welling up, tempting to burst out. To be honest, an arguement was a welcome way to vent her frustration. At Cheren, at Ghetsis, at N and at herself.

"I think I do, actually!" Cheren's voice was elevated. "People like that never end up normal, their lives only end up painful and bitter. Honestly, it's a good thing he left; at least he had the decency not to pull you into his world. Don't follow him Touko. In fact, I forbid you from  
following him."

"How dare you!" Touko said, astonished. "You can't tell me what to do, I'm not your daughter, and I think we've established I'm certainly not your sister!"

"He's collateral damage, Touko, on a one-way ticket to hell! He'll drag you down him if you're not careful!"

"Well maybe I want to be dragged down with him!" Touko yelled without thinking. Self-control had gone out the window now, quite literally. "It would be better than staying here with people like _you_."

"Fine! Just don't come crying to me when it all blows up in your face!" Cheren shouted back.

"Yeah yeah, fine, why are you even still here anyway? Did you just come to lecture me, or tell me something important?"

Cheren hesitated, his tone faltering. "I did actually."

"What then?" Touko snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I came to say that I'm leaving to travel to Kanto tomorrow." Cheren said quietly, his rage seemingly evaporated in an instant.

Touko's eyebrows raised in surprise, though she didn't want to show it.

"So?" she said coldly. "What did you want me to say, I hope you have a nice time? Come back to see Bianca and me some time? Because I don't really want to see you again any time soon."

Cheren gave her an odd look.

"Is that it then? Do I mean _nothing_ to you?" Cheren said with disbelief.

Oh no. Not this. Not now.

Touko didn't want to say anything. This conversation was way out of her comfort zone; she didn't want to apologise, it was far too late for that. She didn't want to make up any excuses, that was out of the question.

And right then, she didn't want to be in that room for a second longer.

Grabbing Zekrom's pokeball, she released the colossal black dragon into the air outside the window, watching it unfurl its vast wingspan with relief from being cooped up in a pokeball for so long. She took one last look at the castle, one last look at the magnificent throne room, one last look at the pain and sadness written across her eldest friends face as the gust of air rushed from Zekrom's wings.

"Goodbye, Cheren."

And then she stepped off out of the window ledge into nothingness.

* * *

**So that was a bit longer than normal to make up for the missed update. I really hope you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for the next chapter for I am going to attempt to develop the UST into something a bit more! Bear in mind, I have basically no experience in how things go, so please forgive me in advance...**

**okay happy monday everyone 3**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N **

**I've been ill for a while, so I don't think my writing is as good, but hey, maybe I'm just not a very good writer.**

**Despite that, thankyou so much to all the wonderful people who followed and reviewed – I even got my first critical review, which is helpful! But all your lovely comments and follows and favs and views are the fuel to this fic – thank you 3**

**So I've re-written this chapter a few times and I'm still not completely satisfied – expect an update at some point over the next two weeks. Gaah it's so hard, how do you guys all write with such ease?**

**In other news, I had a huge fright the other day when I thought I'd lost my Pokemon White 2 cartridge, which contains two shiny Pokemon and my 4 year-old level 100 Luxray (you know him as Shizz in this fic) as well as all of the members of my dream team! But thank GOD it was in the pocket of my trousers…**

**Anyway, here you go, have the next chapter and enjoy! This chapter comes with two warnings:  
- there is a lot of tears in this chapter, don't read if you don't like whiny Touko.  
- and I can't write relationshippy stuff to save my life, despite my love for it.**

* * *

_**Theme: Holding On and Letting Go - Ross Copperman**_

**Chapter 6**

Touko stared at the darkening sky above her, clutching Zekrom's neck to steady herself.

Clouds sped past her like the ghosts of her memories, the stars just beginning to twinkle overhead as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Blinking rapidly, she tried to stop tears from falling.

_It's just the wind. It's just the chill that's making your eyes water, nothing else. _

But up here, no one cared if she cried. There was no one to reprimand her for being weak, no one to remind her that she had to be strong, keep it together and grin and bear all the nightmares that blazed their way through her thoughts.

No one to care if she was falling apart.

_Do not be afraid of letting your feelings show, child. It is not a sign of weakness. _

Perhaps it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but even imagining Zekrom reassure her made her feel slightly better.

Burying her head in her bag that was bundled in front of her on Zekrom's shoulders, she let the tears fall, watching them spin into the wind like tiny drops of rain.

* * *

The stone of the balcony edge was cool against Touko's legs, but it was pleasant. The summer nights often made the air close and humid - it was nice to feel the cold rough texture against the back of her legs.

She swung her legs over, letting them dangle into nothingness. If she blocked the rest of the balcony out of her vision, she could almost fool herself that she was floating in midair. Weightless. Unburdened.

The moon reflecting off marshlands was the only light source out here; they were so far away from civilisation, not a single orange street lamp to pollute the night sky with its garish glow.

After falling asleep with a circle of moisture pressed against her cheek, Zekrom had eventually gravitated towards Dragonspiral Tower, perhaps because it felt drawn to the place due to its history, perhaps just because it was the first place it could think of, but either way Touko was glad to wake to a place where there wasn't anyone around. They'd trekked down the tower to Icirrus City, quickly spotting a hotel high on the hill near the windmills that was mercifully open at such a late hour.

Isolation from everything was exactly what Touko needed right now. She needed to get her head together.

She bit into a chocolate bar thoughtfully, listening to the crickets in the foliage below.

Soft fur brushed her arm. Sarcelle had snuck up onto the ledge next to her, faint purrs drowsy with sleep. Touko reached down to stroke her head absentmindedly. Sarcelle curled up next to her trainer, yawning. She loved to be petted, but doing so often caused her to fall asleep.

"What am I going to do now, Sarcelle?" Touko sighed. "I could always return to the Pokemon League and have another shot at becoming champion, eh? That's always an option. Would you be up to that?" Sarcelle huffed. Maybe not.

"I didn't think so," She smiled. She could continue travelling, maybe she could even explore further a field and buy a plane ticket to discover distant Sinnoh or Kanto even... but, no. None of that really appealed to her right now. That was Cheren's dream, not hers. All she wanted was some peace and quiet for a while.

With one more bite, she finished the chocolate bar, brushing the crumbs from her legs. She brought them up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees and hugging them close. She could stay at the lakeside hotel for a couple of days, and then take another view of her future plans.

"There's no rush, after all." She said quietly, Sarcelle's soft snores already drifting up from below.

Her Xtransceiver ring tone rudely interrupted her peace. She frowned, checking the caller ID. Bianca. There was no way she wanted to chat with that girl right now; Bianca was way too full on. Talking to her required every single ounce of attention, and Touko could barely muster up the will to pick up the damn phone, let alone answer it.

Yes, a complete detox of social interaction was what she wanted right now. She let it ring to voice mail, hearing Bianca's effervescent voice chirrup a message as she irritably pulled the device off her wrist, flinging it across the room.

Scooping Sarcelle up, she wondered back into her bedroom, hearing the voice mail silence. There, it was quiet and calm once more. It wasn't often she caught a moment of stillness, not since she'd begun her journey all those months ago, not even before that. Her mother was always chasing her around the house to do some sort of chore, pulling her unwilling daughter into a dress to go to one of her friend's dinner parties, their shrill laughter over a recounted tale of their training days keeping Touko awake with numb alarm.

But now, it was quiet. The cool night had finally given way to rain, so the only sound was the pitter-patter of raindrops falling on the leaves that surrounded her balcony window. Somewhere in the distance, a lonely Lotad croaked, the gentle sigh of the breeze carrying the hushed lullaby of the night into her room.

Touko shrugged off her jacket, her shorts and shirt joining the cap that she'd tossed onto the chair as she swapped them for her pyjamas. She swept her fringe out of her eyes, pulling her hair into a careless knot on top of her head as a yawn escaped her mouth.

Sleep would keep her over-analytical thoughts at bay.

.

..

...

A noise from below her balcony made her jump out of her skin.

Touko sat bolt upright in her bed, eyes blurry from slumber. Her eyes went straight to the balcony door – the curtains blowing gently from where she'd forgotten to close the window. To an irrational sleeper's eye, they brought to mind a haunting image of ghosts. Sarcelle had vanished, though Touko reminded herself that she had probably gone to join the others in the adjoining room.

Clearing the sleep from her mind, she strained her eyes through the darkness, the pale moonlight illuminating the balcony.

And then nearly toppled off the side of the bed in shock as she caught the movement of a figure.

Smothering a scream with her hand, she stared the figure moved into focus.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?" she hissed, shakily regaining her balance.

It was the very last person she expected to see right then.

N stood on the other side of the balcony rail, one hand gripping the ledge to stop him from falling, the other half-raised in an awkward wave.  
"Touko, I was hoping you'd be here," he whispered, hovering with one leg in midair as if he needed an invitation to step over the barrier between her balcony and the outside world.

"Have you been following me?!" Touko whispered hoarsely in reply, mortified. "How did you find me?"

N looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, Reshiram could sense where Zekrom was, and I assumed that it would be with you. I- I wanted to talk to you."

Touko faltered. "Talk to me? In the middle of the night?"

What could he possibly want to talk to her about? Hadn't he literally just given his noble 'farewell speech' a couple hours ago, disappearing out the window and out of her life?

"Yes. Now please can I get off this ledge before I break my neck?" N sounded sincere. Touko sighed, nodding.

She'd at least expected him to enter through the lobby, but apparently doors were too good for N. He climbed effortlessly over the balcony in one fluid motion, landing lightly on to the balcony.

"Well, you're quite agile for royalty," Touko joked half-heartedly, instantly feeling dumb. As if he needed reminding of his association to Team Plasma. "No, I'm sorry, that was stupid of me, I didn't mean-"

N shrugged offhandedly. "Don't worry about it. I used to climb trees much higher than that when I was younger."

There was something guarded to his tone. Looking closer at his face, his eyes looked darkened, even in the low light. N's eyes were what betrayed his emotions, eyen when his face was a closed mask. They were somehow older than the rest of his features, the eyes of an adult belonging someone of half their age.

Realising she was staring, she averted her gaze to the floor. Why was she nervous all of a sudden?

She felt very underdressed in her pyjama vest and shorts.

She folded her arms across her chest. "What did you want to want to talk to me about anyway?"

N chuckled, turning to face the marshland. "Ah, not this again." He said softly.

"What? What are you on about?" Touko said, feeling faintly slighted.

"That," N gestured back at her with a glance. "Your defence mechanism, as soon as you begin to let someone in, you push them away."

Touko stared, startled. "Huh?"

"Defensive body language, changing the subject," a faint smile tugged at N's jaw. "You know, I'm not your enemy."

Touko frowned. "Well, up until today you were," she said levelly. "What made you change your mind about detesting me?"

"I never said detested you. Not once. In fact, I came to talk to you because as soon as I left the castle, I realised something."

"And what was that?" Touko huffed.

"That among many other things, I've come to understand that you were right in what you were saying about the relationship between humans and their Pokemon."

Touko let out a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding. "You want to talk about ethics and philosophy _now_?"

N opened his mouth to interject, but she spoke over him, her voice rising slightly. "No, N, it's two in the morning. I'm tired. I'm fed up. And right now, I don't want you making my head hurt, with all your 'bonds between trainer and Pokemon' this, and your 'analysing my body language' that. I am not one of your Pokemon, N. I don't act this way because it's my defence, I act like this because I can't afford to let people in that are going to judge me on every single little thing I do."

Silence. She immediately regretted shouting, but how could she possibly expect someone who didn't understand _people _to understand her. _Do you think you're going to get through to a warped person like that?! _Ghetsis's words played through her mind. Maybe he was right.

"All you want to talk about," She began with a shaky voice. "Is liberation. And Pokemon, and the liberation of Pokemon or whatever, because that's all you know."

He hadn't experienced the raw emotions of shouting with a mother over a burned dinner, or the sting of tears when Bianca had cut all the hair off her dolls by accident. Those were just two examples.

"You've never had an argument with someone where you both scream at each other over something so trivial, your voice aches. You've never understood the feeling the soaring feeling of running through puddles high on your father's shoulders. Or that confusion and anguish when they refuse to tell me why he wouldn't wake up." She swallowed hard. "Human emotions."

"I'm sorry." N said in a quiet voice. "I didn't realise-"

"Forget it." Touko mumbled, staring down at her bare toes. The balcony floor was still wet from the rain earlier.

Slowly, she felt a hand press against her own, pulling it away from her chest. She dared to entwine her fingers with his hand, feeling tears prick behind her eyes once again. She hadn't intended to remind herself of her father, but somehow the words had just escaped her mouth in an angry babble.

"I didn't mean…" she began, but a choking sob caught her words halfway through.

There were too many emotions, too many thoughts clouding her head. She just wanted to scream into the night and kick and punch until her knuckles were sore, but she couldn't, she was too tired. Tired of feeling and tired of keeping it all cooped up inside. The hot tang of tears stung her cheeks.

So instead of lashing out, she buried her head in N's chest, clutching his shirt and feeling very small, very childish.

But of all the people in the world to comfort her, she was glad it was N. Somehow, he didn't push her away, even after she'd shouted at him, or try to reason with her, like her mother would have done. He just held her quietly; arms around her like a protective barrier, shielding her from the world.

It was strange, what should have been an awkward distance to be apart actually felt okay. Though she barely knew this new N, she felt the faint glimmer of trust beginning to form between them. And that was okay.

.

..

...

Much later, they sat on the balcony ledge, hands resting against each other like it was the natural place for them to be. As if that was the small lifeline keeping her grounded.

All through the night they spoke about their fathers, and about their childhoods, swapping stories of Pokemon and misadventures until Touko no longer felt sad as she remembered her father. Talking to N made her realise that if she swapped every memory of grief for a happy one, it didn't hurt so much to remember.

She also finally learned the truth about N's childhood, after asking so many times. About how Ghetsis wasn't his real father, and his true home with Zoura, watching the Seven Sages meet and how the heavy burden of expectation and responsibility was placed upon his shoulders when he was sixteen. That had surprised her, that someone of her age could be trusted with such an important take. Her mother had barely trusted her with cooking dinner, let alone being leader of a complex organisation.

As he spoke, she had another opportunity to study his face. She noticed that although he spoke fast and his gestures were animated, N's eyes were steady and slow, gazing down to her own, similar to the fathomless inky depths of the lake, glimmers of stars reflected within. She was close enough to count his eyelashes, wondering how it was possible for boys to have such long lashes without even trying.

His serious tone had returned, interrupting her daydream.

"Touko, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. For today, for just now, for everything." he sounded faintly exasperated. "You're right, I don't understand people as well as you do, and nor do I expect you to understand _me_. I'm not good, Touko." He looked dejected. "I am not a good person."

Curse him. To hell with understanding.

"You are a good person, N. Believe me. You help me stop Ghetsis from taking over the world, for God's sake, when it would have been easier to sit and watch him destroy me."

She edged closer, confident she'd got her point across. The silence qualified this, as they remained quiet for a few moments, both watching the night's cool breeze jostle the bulrushes that lined the lake. Then,

"Also, I don't care."

She felt his eyes on her, imagining their quizzical look, though she kept her gaze fixed on the horizon.

She took a deep breath, finally looking back to him. "I mean, don't care if I don't understand you. I can learn in time."

The distance between them suddenly felt very small. It was as if the air between them was charged, her heart dropping to her stomach like she was on a roller coaster ride as she realised she could count the inches between them on one hand.

"In time…" N repeated quietly, one of his hands trailing across her cheek, brushing a lose tendril of hair away from her eyes. He rested his hand lightly against her neck, causing her pulse to flutter like a trapped bird in response. Her eyes flickered shut.

Then, before she could do anything about it, before she could open her eyes, before she could get herself together, N kissed her, his lips delicate and soft on her own.

After a moment that seemed to last for a million years, they broke away, both equally surprised.

"N... I-I'm sorry" she stuttered, hardly believing what had just happened, or to comprehend what had come over her. She scrambled off the balcony ledge, a sudden need to have solid ground below her feet to stop the world from spinning.

"So that's what this emotion is," N grinned, as if he'd just solved a particularly difficult puzzle. "I think I'm beginning to understand."

And try as she might, she couldn't come up with a single reason not to, so she kissed him again, smiling against his mouth, her own hands weaving into his hair, his cap to toppling off the side of the balcony to the ground. Neither of them made a move to see where it landed.

She pulled him to his feet, and he finally regained use of his limbs, wrapping his arms around her hips to pull her closer.

What began as an innocent kiss had rapidly developed into something deeper, and Touko felt as if her whole body was on fire. Why either of them were doing this was a mystery to her, though weeks worth of tension felt as if it was breaking like a dam, and the flood of emotions to come was inevitable.

His kisses sent waves of warmth through her body; it was like nothing shed ever experienced before. This was a brand new sensation, sailing dangerously in un-chartered oceans. She felt it, tingling right from the top of her spine down to the tips of her toes.

An involuntary gasp escaped her throat, which he took as an invitation to deepen the kiss, tripping her mind into a frenzy.

Finally, short breaths of air weren't enough and they both broke apart, panting slightly. Touko felt dizzy, though she had no idea if it was from lack of oxygen or from the rush of emotion she could feel burning its relentless path through her body.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Touko said, inches away from his lips.

Through heavy eyes, Touko could see that N's own blue eyes were filled with a strange emotion that she could not read. At that moment, everything about N scared her, from the gentle hands that rested at the small of her back, to the way her heart thudded against her chest at the feeling he was inflicting on her.

"I don't know," N said in a low voice, eyes flicking up and down her face. "I guess it just feels natural..."

Part of her mind shouted at her for giving in so easily, but another part wasn't completely satisfied with that kiss.

She attacked his lips once again, feeling her legs dissolving as he snaked a hand up to entwine in her hair.

Touko wasn't exactly certain what was happening to her in the state of complete bliss, though somehow she found herself against the cool wall of the bedroom, the curtains billowing through the balcony door into the night.

She smiled as he peppered her jaw and neck with kisses, leaving a trail of fire where their skin came into contact. She was literally overflowing with emotion from the past few days; anger, hate, love, fear, amazement and confusion all flowed into one sensation, leaving her weary and unable to think rationally. Annoying thoughts and protestations buzzed around her head like irritating bugs.

She pushed them away, pulling N closer. That's all she could think about now. The only command that blazed in her mind was the desire for her former enemy, scandalous though it may be.

Looking up at him, she gazed into his eyes. In the darkness she could just make out that his pupils so wide with a hunger she couldn't name, the blue of his irises were almost completely enveloped in black.

To hell with rational thinking.

N moved his hands from her back to pin her against the wall, the kiss becoming rough. This was certainly not the innocent boy she thought knew. Refusing to be outdone, she attacked the buttons on his shirt.

Touko's legs were too weak to stand for a moment longer, so she toppled on to the bed, pulling N down on top of her. Why the hell not? She had nothing left to lose or gain.

N's chest was pale in the moonlight that flooded down through the open window. She gazed at him through hazy vision, noticing a faint scar that trailed across his collarbone, up on to his shoulder. She frowned. Littered across his chest were also the faint ghosts of bruises, almost invisible, but not quite invisible enough for her not to notice.

"What... who did this to you?" she whispered, tracing her forefinger across the scar, though she already had a pretty good idea who it was.  
She felt sick at the thought that someone posing as a father figure could bring themselves to do such a thing.

N caught her hand. "Don't..." he said darkly. "Just leave it. Please."

Although she didn't push it, the note of pleading in his voice sent chills down her spine.


End file.
